U.S. investigating 1996 contract for Korea radar sets

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating two major U.S. defense contractors over military contracts with South Korea made in the late 1990s, U.S. media have reported.

Raytheon Corp said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it has received a subpoena from a U.S. district court in California that "seeks documents relating to a foreign military sales contract in Korea in the late 1990s." The firm, based in Lexington, Massachussetts, denied any wrongdoing and said it was cooperating in the investigation.

Another defense contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., disclosed in a similar filing on Aug. 8 that it had received a subpoena seeking information about a 1996 sale of radar equipment to the Korean government. The Boston Globe said this was the same case that triggered the Raytheon subpoena.

The contract award had prompted a 1999 lawsuit against Lockheed Martin. An agent for an unsuccessful bidder charged that the Korean agent of Loral Corp., later acquired by Lockheed Martin, had employed "wrongful means, including bribes and sexual favors" to win the bid.

by Ser Myo-ja